The EIGHTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PIG REPRODUCTION (ICPR) was held in June 2009. The meeting provided another excellent opportunity for scientific and social interaction among 151 delegates from 19 countries actively involved in most aspects of pig reproduction. Twenty-one invited speakers from eleven countries reviewed the latest advances in pig reproductive biology and the links of this knowledge to implementation in the swine industry; covering the following themes:
• Physiological roles of the boar ejaculate • Future developments in swine AI • State-of-the-art in –omic biology • Maturation of the pre-ovulatory follicle • Management of ovarian activity • Control of prenatal development • Future breeding management programs • Conceptus-uterus interactions/early pregnancy signalling
State-of-the-art lectures by recognised experts in their fields were intermingled with parallel session presentations of the latest developments in pig reproductive biology and with shorter-presentations by the younger generation of research colleagues, selected from 18 abstracts from eight countries submitted to the conference, many being incorporated in a common theme "Breaking science in pig reproductive biology".
This volume contains manuscripts accompanying the state-of-the art lectures, the parallel sessions and the expanded abstracts. As a continuation of the earlier volumes in this series, the proceedings of the Eighth International Conference in Pig Reproduction provide an authoritative and up-to-date source of information on research in pig reproduction. This will be an invaluable resource for students, teachers, veterinarians, animal scientists, consultants and technologists with an interest in all aspects of pig reproduction.
Contents
- Physiology of Boar Ejaculate
- Molecular Kinetics of Porcine Sperm Surface
- Optimisation of Sperm Technologies
- Boar Semen Preservation
- Predicting Boar and Semen Fertility
- Genomics and Pig Reproduction
- Gamete and Embryo Proteomics
- Lactational Anoestrus in the Sow
- In Vitro Embryo Production and Normality in Pigs
- Intra-Follicular Regulatory Mechanisms
- Epigenesis of Porcine Oocyte and Embryos
- Ovarian Responses to Lactation Management Strategies
- Fixed-time Ovulation in the Pig
- Prenatal Programming in the Pig
- Maternal-fetal Immunological Interaction
- Genomics of Feto-placental Development in Pigs
- Development of the Pig Placenta
- Body Condition and Breeding Performance in Pigs
- Genetics of Lifetime Production
- Antiluteolytic Mechanisms and Pregnancy Establishment
- Pig Conceptuses Regulate Endometrial Genes